Goodness & Mercy (devotional)

I love this verse. And not just because Chris Tomlin has a catchy song about it. This verse says God’s goodness and mercy follow us. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Who wouldn’t want that?

I’m a word nerd, so sometimes I research etymology within verses. Here, the word “follow” in Hebrew is the word “yirdepuni” (root: radaf), which means “to chase or relentlessly pursue”. Try that on for size! The goodness of God chases YOU every day of your life. You’ll never shake His relentless pursuit of you! 

The other word that stood out to me was “koi”- or “me”. Seems simple enough, but what struck me was that, in this case, the word for “me” implies all of me. All. Not just the parts that are cleaned up or I’m willing to post on the ‘gram. All. He sees every part of me, even the dark, messy stuff and yet, He doggedly pursues me with goodness. 

The thing about something pursuing us is that, because it’s behind us, we may forget it’s there. Our circumstances may distract us from this truth. What I’ve found is that, in the times I’ve lost focus on this, He reminds me of it by allowing me to catch a glimpse of His goodness mirrored in something in front of me, the same way I can see the reflection of people walking behind me as I gaze into a store window. His goodness has been reflected in a friend who texts at exactly the right time, a family member who encourages me to keep going, or a stranger who makes a kind gesture. 

As we mature, we can train ourselves to look for these reminders, these God-winks as I call them, remaining aware of God’s goodness in our lives. We can also become more intentional about being the reflection of God’s goodness: to be the friend that sends the text, the family member with encouraging words, or the stranger who does something kind.

I encourage you to look for the ways God’s goodness is on display in your life and to be intentional about reflecting His goodness in the lives of others so that they might see Him in you.

I’d love to hear how you’ve seen God’s goodness on display in your life recently. Share it in the comments below.